Nancy Pelosi won her biggest victory in her first 100 days as speaker of the House of Representatives by making peace among her own Democrats. Mollifying moderates and staving off liberal defections, she narrowly wrung passage of legislation setting a troop withdrawal deadline from Iraq.

The Iraq legislation was the truest testament to her leadership, analysts said. The nation’s first female House speaker, the top leadership post in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress, has also passed a raft of other bills, set herself up as a visible opponent to President George W. Bush and taken steps to protect Democratic incumbents who could be vulnerable to Republican challengers next year.

Key tests lie ahead when House members return from their April recess in the coming week.

The Iraq troop withdrawal bill faces a veto threat from Bush. Pelosi critics point out that her legislative priorities, such as raising the minimum wage and expanding stem cell research, have not yet become law.

But even opponents concede that Pelosi’s kept her agenda, and herself, firmly in the spotlight since her history-making swearing-in Jan. 4.

‘I have a great serenity about it because I understand why people have to do what they have to do, both Democrats and Republicans,’ Pelosi told The Associated Press in an interview as she prepared to mark the 100-day milestone Saturday. ‘And the challenge is a positive challenge.’

Democrats noted the 100-day mark in their weekly radio address Saturday. ‘Our work is not done,’ said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois.

Public approval of Pelosi has waned slightly since her initial honeymoon, according to an AP-Ipsos poll conducted April 2-4. Overall, 46 percent said they approved of how Pelosi was handling her job, compared with 51 percent in mid-January, while 44 percent disapproved, compared with 35 percent in mid-January.

There have been controversies. A recent trip to Syria drew stinging criticism from the White House and consternation among some moderate Democrats, who viewed it as a distraction. In February, Republicans turned a minor story over the size of the government plane Pelosi takes to California into a full-blown flap when she did not move quickly to respond.

Other disputes have served to show off Pelosi’s backbone. When Vice President Dick Cheney argued that Democrats’ war approach would ‘validate the al-Qaida strategy,’ she unleashed a furious retort. The comment was ‘beneath the dignity of the debate we’re engaged in,’ Pelosi said.

‘She is not easily intimidated, and I think that when you deal with the White House and Karl Rove’s people you cannot be a shrinking violet,’ said Rutgers political science professor Ross Baker. ‘And she certainly is not that.’

Pelosi, a liberal Democrat from San Francisco, has won praise from moderates in her caucus for including them in decision-making. Sometimes, it is her fellow progressives who give her trouble.

That happened with the legislation to pull combat troops from Iraq before September 2008 that passed the House 218-212 last month. After reacting with alarm to early proposals that put more conditions on the war, moderates ended up with a bill most were comfortable with.

Her more liberal allies complained the final product did not go far enough because it continued to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It took hours of negotiating for Pelosi to tie down their support.

Many liberals said they recognize the political realities Pelosi confronts as she aims to keep Democrats in power in the Congress. Key victories the party won in November were in more conservative districts, and Pelosi must take care to protect those moderate incumbents.

‘My guess is that she’s far more pacifist than the majority of our caucus, but I think she also understands that she’s got to pass legislation,’ said Rep. Pete Stark, a California Democrat.

Pelosi’s ability to do just that will be tested as she and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid head toward confrontation with the White House over the Iraq troop bill. Their meeting with Bush is scheduled for Wednesday.

Other upcoming priorities for House action include lobbying, ethics and election reform bills and legislation to fund more teachers and simplify tax-paying. Pelosi hopes to have a global warming bill ready before the 4th of July.

Some of the thorniest issues confronting Congress are not scheduled for quick action, including immigration reform and health care changes. It is in part a recognition that Pelosi is aiming to set goals she can deliver.